Historic home saved from demolition and turned into $6m waterfront paradise
Friday, 19 June 2026
A historic home that served as an aged-care facility before being saved from demolition has been transported across a region in pieces and transformed into a multi-million dollar estate.
The five-bedroom property, painted sea grey and named 'The Grey House', is on the market by negotiation with price expectations ranging from $6 million to $6.5 million.
The current owners are building a new retirement home on the other side of the peninsula after spending 14 years upgrading the expansive waterfront grounds.
If this home looks like it might be something you’d see in a leafy street in Auckland’s eastern suburbs, rather than in coastal Rodney, that’s because this waterfront home at 129 Ridge Road, Mahurangi East, started its life in Remuera’s St Vincent Ave.
Built in 1911, it was sold to the Catholic Church in 1964 and became the St Elizabeth’s Home for the Aged for a number of years, say its vendors. It was set for demolition in the late 1990s when the previous owners, who Glenda and Colin Hopkins bought from, stepped in.
They moved the house to the current location on a site overlooking Andersons Bay. The 680m² home was transported in 10 pieces and was then given a major renovation by the antique collector owners, bringing it up to year 2000 standards with new wiring and plumbing.
The Hopkins, over their tenure of the past 14 years, have lavished care on the home, finishing the job the previous owners started, giving it a big new kitchen, designed by Glenda, an artist, and built by Kitchenworks of Warkworth. The Hopkins also put a pool in, a favourite spot for their grandchildren.
The style of the home is like something that could be found in the Hamptons or on Martha’s Vineyard. Painted sea grey, it is called 'The Grey House'. It has an American arts and crafts style to it, says Glenda, and this can be seen in the rimu wall panelling and beautiful internal staircase and balustrade.
Glenda and Colin, parents of four adult children and 10 grandchildren, believe this waterfront location offers a mini-resort lifestyle.
“Even after 14 years I still pinch myself that you can just walk down the steps through the garden and have a swim or a kayak and go fishing,” says Glenda. All of the houses in the bay have riparian rights, and a number of them have boats moored in Andersons Bay.
“We have a runabout, so we just do skiing and fishing. And because we have a boat ramp, it makes it very easy for us,” says Glenda.
This is a house where the grandchildren love to come. It has a secret door, says Glenda.
“It’s in the formal lounge. It just looks like a panel, and you push it and end up in the room with the four-poster bed, or as my granddaughters call it, the Princess Room,” says Glenda.
There is room to spare for hide and seek at this property with 4840m² of land.
“You’ve got the platform the house sits on, and then you walk down this very grand brick staircase to another lawn. That’s where the kids will camp or play cricket,” says Glenda.
Glenda and Colin have made lots of cosy spaces in the expansive home.
“There’s the little library that we created, which is a favourite, sought-after place,” says Glenda.
The deck upstairs is another very nice spot to just sit out on and chill, she says.
“We’ll just sit in the Cape Cod chairs wrapped in a blanket and watch the sunsets, which are very magical here,” says the vendor.
As well as the five bedrooms in the main house, three bedrooms upstairs and two on the lower level, there are extra accommodation choices.
An airy studio with a bedroom loft reached by a little library ladder sits over the three-car garage and is used as an Airbnb.
A big event organiser comes every year for two weeks to just sleep and regain her energy, says Glenda.
Airbnb guests like the fact that Matakana is 20 minutes’ drive away, and they will often go to the Tāwharanui Reserve and stay up to see kiwi, she says.
Glenda also has a 52m² art studio which could be used for many purposes, a place to run a business from or a caretaker's cottage, for instance.
The Hopkins, in their 60s, are building a home on the other side of the peninsula for their retirement and have reassured the grandchildren there will be a pool.
They have faith the right buyer will come along for this special house.
The heart of The Grey House is to be open to others, says Glenda.
“It became a home for those that were at the end of their lives that needed care and love, and that hasn’t stopped. It’s a home of love and laughter. It has wide open arms.”
This Rodney home is for sale by negotiation. NZ Sotheby’s International Realty agent Natalie Newton says she is expecting offers from $6m to $6.5m and expects it will attract interest from AIP visa holders as well as local buyers.